Nicholas Zacharewski '19 Recruiting Profile

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, said "excellence … is a habit". I try to live by these words every day in the class room, at the rink, when training, and most importantly, as a person. I belief that each of us can make excellence a habit through hard work and perseverance. This life lesson was instilled in me by my parents. Whenever I struggle, my dad reminds me that not everything comes easily  and anything worthwhile often requires an investment with greater effort. My mom often tells me not to be ordinary but extraordinary in every situation. Playing hockey is no different. My dad had me on skates at the age of two and I started playing organized hockey around age four. I love every aspect of hockey – games, training, locker room banter, road trips and practices. I am always looking to improve by signing up for skills skates and clinics and taking advantage of opportunities to optimize my training to be competitive at a higher level. This year, I am focusing on increasing my foot speed and explosiveness on the ice and in the weight room.

I have been described as a responsible puck-moving defensive defenseman with a physical edge and underutilized offensive potential. Previous coaches have lauded my soft hands, size, dependability in all situations, hockey IQ and work ethic. I am often asked to be a shooter outside of practice to give our goalies more work and at goalie clinics/camps. My pursuit of excellence also extends to school. I have enrolled in honors classes in high school and will be taking AP classes offered at Shattuck during my junior and senior years. My goal is to play at the most competitive NCAA-eligible level available after high school and continue to my hockey career at the highest possible level at an academically rigorous college.